Retirement funds and public pensions are only recent inventions in China. Though pensions and health insurance plans have expanded somewhat in recent years, China’s aged must live on much less than their counterparts in developed countries. Traditionally, it was taken for granted that all children should take care of their parents -- a failure to do so would be embarrassing for any family -- but contemporary demographics mean that when children (who are typically fewer in number than in the past) are less than filial, just getting by can become a major challenge.